Contemplating Differences in Light and Dark
by Schmerz Schwestern
Summary: A prophecy written by the makers of destiny speaks of two friends who will alter the course of history. One will fight for the Light, the other for the Dark, and in the process they will lose themselves and each other. Kingdom hearts, prepare yourself.
1. A Tentative Beginning

A/N: Hey hey, people! It's me, Silver, with another fanfiction to busy my little head with. I know what you're thinking: 'One story from her is bad enough, but she's actually putting _another_ one into the world?' Hmph. Well for your information, I actually have ideas for this one, unlike _An Unusual Punishment_, where me and Mystic have a writer's block the size of Arcadia and Riverside put together… and then some. Oh, speaking of Mystic: this story I'm writing totally on my own. Mystic is my beta, of course (wouldn't dream of asking anyone else… ehehe) but other than that she doesn't touch this one. Another buddy of mine graciously let me borrow her image and rp character for use as well, so credit goes where needed. Silver's still mine. Yay.

**Another important note: **Since I didn't like how all the cool Org members died in CoM and all the "ehhh…" members lived (with, of course, the exception of Axel, Demyx and Roxas) I decided to cancel out the whole arc. For the purposes of this fic, Chain of Memories _never happened_. If you have a problem with my not following the actual plotline of Kingdom Hearts…I'm sorry, but that IS kinda the point of a fanfiction, right? So please don't review telling me that some of the characters in here are dead or this is not following CoM, because I know. Besides, how can you NOT revive a guy like Marluxia?

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts I, II, or Chain of Memories. If I did, Marluxia would be alive, Larxene and Demyx would be together, the Organization would all have their hearts back, and Sora would fall off a cliff. I suppose it's a good thing I don't own it then, huh:P On to the story!

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**PROPHECY**

_Who is that I hear, knocking on death's door?_

_Who is that I hear, calling out for war?_

_Girl of talent, girl of beauty_

_Girl to swear an oath of fealty_

_On her wrist a crescent moon_

_In her heart a hateful tune_

_Through the darkness, through the rain_

_Cometh she who shalt cause pain._

_Who is that I see, in a time of unease?_

_Who is that I see, some messenger of peace?_

_Girl of kindness, girl of cunning_

_Girl whose friendship remains running_

_On her wrist a shining sun_

_With her voice a song unsung_

_Upon her coming there's hope for light_

_And so the darkness she comes to fight._

_So alike yet so apart_

_One is light and one is dark_

_The moon rises as the sun sets_

_Standing still they've time to regret_

_As voices cry and tears fall_

_The cur'sed answer to their call._

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In the darkened halls of the World That Never Was, Xemnas sat on his self-granted throne and stared forlornly out at the black sky and the heart-shaped moon that adorned it. The night felt more ominous than usual, the silence more daunting, and for the first time in quite a while Xemnas did not want to be alone in this white-walled prison.

Not like he didn't have a choice. If he wished, he could easily be out there with the other twelve, participating in useless dramas, acting out what it would feel like to truly have a heart. Because Nobodies didn't have hearts. And everyone who did seemed all too eager to remind them of such.

"Marluxia!" he barked, when the thickness of the air got too much. It felt good to hear something, even if it was his own voice.

Nevertheless, it took some time before the 11th member showed up, out of breath and looking slightly disheveled. "Yes, Xemnas?"

"What took you so long?" Xemnas asked impatiently.

"I apologize, there were a few deaths that needed preventing." At Xemnas' raised eyebrow, he continued. "Xigbar and Vexen were fighting again."

Xemnas considered this for a moment before speaking. "I want you to scout the area and report back to me. Make sure it's thorough; I don't want anything to escape my notice tonight."

Marluxia gave a nod of assent. "May I ask why?"

"No, you may not," Xemnas snorted. "But I suppose I'll answer." He stared out the window pensively, gazing at the perfect view his window offered. It was a while before he spoke again.

"Look at it, Marluxia," he whispered, "Just look at it. All our desires, all our dreams, an arm's reach away… if we stretch out a hand we can almost touch it, almost taste it…" To emphasize his point, Xemnas' left hand stretched upwards until he was holding the heart-shaped moon in his palm. His eyes, though supposed to convey nothing of emotion, held a sort of crazed desperation in them, a dark and lonely desire for humanity.

In one swift motion, his hand closed upon the image and was brought tiredly down to rest once more by his side. "Something's going to happen tonight," he said after clearing his throat. "Something important. I can feel it in my blood and I don't want to miss it. Understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. You're dismissed." The youth walked out without another word, summoning his rose colored scythe moments before exiting out the door.

And just like that, Xemnas was alone again.

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"Goofy! Hurry up! Leon and the others are waiting, and you're being a slowpoke!" Donald squawked angrily, stomping one flat foot on the ground. Sora laughed behind him as Goofy ran to catch up, hands clutching his hat and shouting 'Sorry!' s as he went.

They began chatting cheerfully once he caught up, discussing what might have caused the urgency in Merlin's voice when he had called them on the Gummi ship minutes ago. The wizard had said nothing revealing on the phone, mentioning something about how important it was, and how it would be best if they spoke in person ('you could never be sure who's listening in on a phone conversation' was his reasoning.) It made sense, of course, but was a bit of a hassle.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a bright light streaked right across the blue sky, a shining flare that disappeared as quickly as it had come.

"Whoa…" Sora turned, his head tilted upwards as his eyes traced the trail that the light had left in the sky. "What was that?"

"Looked like a shooting star," Goofy mused, finger tapping his mouth thoughtfully.

"But it's daylight!" Donald protested. "There aren't shooting stars at day!" When neither of his companions moved from their spots, he added, "It was probably just a stray firework or flare. Now come on, you two, I don't wanna be late like last time." He turned and waddled out of the alleyway, Goofy close behind. It was Sora that stayed after this time, his eyes still affixed to the sky.

"Somehow… I have a strange feeling about this," Sora murmured. "Like something's big is gonna happen… but what?" His thoughts were swiftly interrupted when Goofy stuck his head out from behind the corner.

"Uh, Sora? We'd better go. Donald's in a mood."

"Oh, right." With those two words, all thoughts of the flare and mysterious feeling quickly evaporated, leaving the keyblade master trailing along carelessly behind his friends.

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_Ding dong._

"Coming!"

_Ding dong._

"I said I'm coming!"

_Dinddongdingdongdingdongding—_

Slam! "I said I was coming!!"

A grin. "Oh, really? I didn't hear you." A soft _dong_ sounded as the girl outside the door lifted her finger from the bell.

Satsuki Langley—a tall Asian girl with poofy shoulder-length hair and brown eyes—glared her evilest glare at Silver Sumeragi—an equally tall Asian girl with eyes a darker shade of brown and wire rimmed glasses—before giving a huff and slamming the door closed again. At Silver's shout of indignation, she went back to lock the door.

"Oh, c'mon, Sats, I was bored!"

"Bored now?"

"Satsuuukiiii!!"

"Fine, fine!" Satsuki unlocked the door grudgingly and let the gloating girl in. "You'd have better brought some good movies ya know, with how much you're annoying me."

"You know you love it. And I brought CRASH, Pride and Prejudice, Finding Nemo, and Pirates of the Caribbean One and Two. Take your pick."

"Ooh, ooh, I say Pirates One and Pirates Two back to back!"

"I second that offer. Popcorn?"

"You know it."

Less than twenty minutes later, the two were settled down in front of the television with a giant bowl of popcorn, three gigantic bags of Sour Cream and Onion Ruffles, Hot Cheetos, and Spicy Nacho Doritos, a bag of chocolates, and two tall glasses of water, and were avidly gazing at the screen as the Pirates of the Caribbean logo came on.

They had barely watched half the movie when a loud clunking sound cut through the noise of Elizabeth's screaming. Satsuki quickly paused the movie, and both girls turned to see what had made the sound.

"What was that?" Silver whispered, when nothing else happened.

"No idea," Satsuki whispered back. "No one's home except us, unless…" They jumped in tandem when the clunking began again, this time louder.

"It's coming from the basement." Silver observed.

"Gee, thanks for the tip, Einstein." Satsuki got up from the sofa and headed towards the stairs leading down into the basement, grabbing a flashlight from atop a shelf as she went. "Come on, Silver!"

Said girl had been sitting frozen in her seat, watching her friend's movements with wide-eyed curiosity. At the hissed whisper, however, she got up and followed, mumbling "You and your bravado," as she found an extra flashlight near the couch.

The two inched towards the door to the basement, shushing each other as they went. Upon reaching the door, Satsuki reached out a hand to turn the doorknob before peering cautiously down into the darkness. The noises had abruptly stopped.

"…You go first."

"No, _you_ go first.

"No, _you_ go first!"

Silver sighed. "Here, why don't we both go first?" Satsuki nodded.

"Good idea. …You go first."

"Satsuki!"

"I'll be right behind you, I swear!"

Grumbling good-naturedly, Silver consented, taking the first step down the creaky stairs, her flashlight moving erratically. Satsuki, true to her word, was right behind her, rechecking every corner that Silver had sped through. A few minutes later, the pair had gone through the whole of the basement and found nothing of interest.

"Well, I guess that's it," Satsuki said after a moment's hesitation. "There's no one here. Nothing's even knocked over."

"So we were hearing things?"

"I suppose. C'mon, back to the movie." The two turned and headed towards the stairs, sighing and complaining, when...

"WOOF! WOOF!"

They froze.

And turned.

Sitting at the bottom of the steps, grinning impishly with its tail wagging side to side, was a very big dog with light brown fur and droopy black ears. Silver and Satsuki exchanged bewildered looks.

"Uhm… exactly how did we miss that?" Satsuki whispered.

Silver bent down to gaze at the animal (who seemed overjoyed at her shrinking down to his level and promptly slobbered all over the side of the girl's face with his tongue). "Eyuuck…" she mumbled, wiping the drool off, before leaning closer to inspect the dog's tag. "Well, it isn't a stray, at least. Says here that his name is Pluto… 'If lost, please return to Mickey Mouse'. Well, isn't that a coincidence, the dog even looks like Pluto."

"Disney fanatics, I'm guessing. Maybe this is Ashley's dog?" _(A/N: Personal shout-out to Ashley, aka 'Jack'. Love ya!)_

"Does it matter? Anyway, we'd better get him upstairs." Silver reached out a hand to grab him, but at the last minute Pluto pulled out of reach, choosing instead to dash away from the girls and toward the farther corner of the basement.

"Crap…"

Immediately, Satsuki and Silver raced forward, chasing the large dog down. Despite his size, he managed to keep just out of lunging distance as he ran around the semi-spacious basement. Eventually, however, the two girls managed to catch up, and they both reached out a hand to grasp Pluto's collar…

Satsuki's hand connected first.

Silver's hand, a millisecond after.

And as Pluto came to a rushing stop, there was a blinding flash of light…

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A/N: Well, there's chapter one. Arent'cha proud:) It's short, I know, but the chapters'll get longer. Y'know. Maybe. Ahh, who am I kidding.

Anyways, I felt that was a good place to stop. Leaves a bit of a cliffhanger for you guys, so there's more of a chance you'll stick around to see what happens. That said, review! Come on, make my day! See you next time!


	2. First Impressions

A/N: Here it is, chapter two! About time, yes?

Disclaimer: Still don't own Kingdom Hearts.

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When Silver Sumeragi came to, she found herself absolutely soaked and lying curled up on the hard ground of an unknown street. She slowly got up, blinking spots out of her eyes and placing a hand carefully to her forehead. "Oh, my head…" she groaned, "What the hell happened?" She glanced around nervously.

Her surroundings were so obviously _not_ Satsuki's basement that it took a few moments for that to sink in. It took another few for her to realize that this place, wherever it was, was distinctly familiar.

_Okay, Silver, _she thought blearily, _Think. Think think think. God, I sound like fricking Winnie the Pooh. Gah, off topic… Where have I seen this place before? Tall dark buildings, pounding rain, hard uncomfortable floor, blinking buzzing billboard signs with no words on it, sky with no stars, heart-shaped moon—_

Her musings were interrupted by a low droning sound behind her. She turned around, hoping beyond hope that it was Satsuki with a flashlight. No such luck—the creature that was shifting in front of her was nothing from Earth.

_Well, at least I know where I am now. That is a Dusk Nobody. I am in the World that Never Was. I am so undeniably screwed. _That thought multiplied by about fifty million times when the droning noise increased and about twenty other Dusks and two Samurai Nobodies showed up in front of her and began advancing. Since it was the intelligent thing to do, Silver started to back up very, very slowly.

"N-nice Nobodies… Don't kill me… Oh my god, I hope this is a dream. Wake up. Wake up. Wakeupwakeupwakeup. Ohhh, I'm so _fucked_… Maybe I should make a run for it. That seems logical, yeah?"

As she continued backing up, however, her foot predictably caught on a loose stone in the road and she tripped, falling backwards on her bottom. "Ow. Well there goes that idea," she muttered.

The Nobodies pressed on, a lone Samurai at the front. Silver tried to scoot backwards a little more, but her legs seemed to be locked in their crossed position underneath her body. When the Samurai closest to her began swinging its enormous blade in circles above its head, she found herself powerless and watching its movements with increasing fear.

She saw the blade come sweeping down towards her head, and threw up her hand instinctively, to block its approach (A/N: _As if an arm is gonna stop that thing)_, her eyes closing in morbid anticipation.

Instead of feeling immense pain and hearing the soft thud of her own death, however, the only thing she felt was a warm, glowy feeling in her hand, and all she heard was the faint clink of metal against metal. When her eyes snapped open, a near amazing sight greeted her—the Samurai and its blade were both being held back by a large shuriken that happened to be gripped tightly in her hand.

She didn't even think; it was as if her body moved of its own accord. Silver found her free arm throwing the Samurai back, and as it stumbled, her weapon hand came down on its head, chopping him clean in half.

The Nobody disappeared in a rush of black dust, and a full minute of silence passed before Silver found herself shakily getting to her feet, shuriken gripped tightly in her fist, so tightly it drew a thin line of blood. The Nobodies that were left gazed at her with soulless, unseeing eyes, as if contemplating their next move. She managed a shaky grin and laugh. "Well, that was fun, yeah? See ya in never, bye!" With that, she whipped right around and ran for her life, the Nobodies giving chase right behind her.

Silver scampered blindly, making quick turns every once in a while in a useless attempt at losing her followers. When a Dusk or two got too close, she threw the shuriken behind her to slice it down, but other than that she focused all her attentions on getting the hell out of there and finding a safe-ish place.

Therefore, she was completely caught off guard when she ran right into a dead end and effectively trapped herself in an alley with nowhere else to go.

"Well, this is looking familiar." She commented as she shrunk back until her body fell with a thump against the wall. "Yay for me, I'm in a fucking death or death situation and I _still_ have time for sarcastic remarks." She threw the shuriken into the crowd feebly, but the effect was minimal considering more Nobodies were materializing as time passed. _I'm doomed. I'm dead. There is no way I can luck out in this one._ They got closer and closer, and for the second time in what was probably as many minutes, Silver closed her eyes tightly, mentally preparing herself as best she could.

Seconds passed, and when all she sensed was a rush of wind against her face, she opened her eyes just in time to see a cloaked and hooded figure swing an oversized scythe right through the mob of Nobodies, defeating them all in a matter of seconds.

"Hm. Easy." An irrefutably male voice snorted contemptuously, straightening from his bent over position.

_Hel-_lo, _tall, dark and handsome! _Her mind cheered as she gazed up at her savior. _Take _me _home, honey! _Well, that's what she thought until he flipped around and pointed the sharper side of his scythe at her neck. The only thought that went through her mind then was 'Oh shit!'.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" The cloaked man demanded, the scythe shining steady and menacingly in the moonlight.

"Uhm…" _Awfully demanding, isn't he… Waaait a minute, that deadly killer scythe is looking familiar… Is that Marluxia? _"Hi?"

"Wrong answer." He pulled the blade back in an arc, preparing to strike, when he suddenly paused, cocking his hooded head slightly. A few tortuous moments passed, until he pulled the blade back and rested the weapon lazily on his shoulders. "On second thought, you're coming with me. Superior'll want to see you before your demise." He grabbed her arm roughly, dragging her out the alleyway towards a portal he'd erected just outside.

Silver pursed her lips angrily. "Y'know, you're meaner in person," she muttered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

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Meanwhile, Satsuki was waking up to a blue, sunny sky and a brown little kitten nudging her in the head with a very wet nose. She sat up with a start, blinking bleary eyes as she gazed, confused, at her surroundings. The kitten (who had been unsettled by her sudden movement) climbed back into her lap, purring happily. Satsuki petted it while her mind raced.

_Where am I…?_ "Silver?" she called out tentatively. Unsurprisingly, no one answered.

Shakily, the girl stood up, taking the kitten with her.

"Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore…" Satsuki sighed. "Lemme take a wild guess and say this is not my basement, or my house, or anywhere in the city of Riverside because Riverside doesn't have a sky that… sky-ish…" she trailed off for a minute, staring at the aforementioned sky, and only snapped out of it when the kitten in her arms nipped her fingers lightly.

"Oh, right. Where was I? Er, where _am_ I?" Noticing a sign on the wall in front of her, she edged closer to read it. "'_Hollow Bastion: Postern.' _Hollow Bastion? That-that's that place in Kingdom Hearts! Am I in a flipping _videogame_?! … Ohh dear. Ohh deary. Bad dream. This is such the bad dream. I cannot be stuck in a videogame, that's completely impossible… right?" Not knowing where else to turn, she looked down at the kitten for guidance.

The furball merely mewled cheerfully, causing Satsuki to groan in disappointment. "You are no help, you know that?" She leaned against the wall for a moment to clear her head.

Suddenly, her eyes shot open and she looked around wildly. "Wait a minute, if I'm here that means Silver has to be here too, right? She was right with me when that dog… wait. The dog. _Pluto_. He must've been our way in here; in the first game, Sora woke up in Traverse Town with Pluto in his lap, so… she touched the dog same time I did, so she must be here, somewhere." Satsuki pushed herself off the wall and started towards the only way out.

In her rush, however, she didn't notice a trio of voices heading her way.

"I told you already, Donald, this can't be the right way!"

"Yes it is!"

"If it was, we should've been there already. The map says—"

"I think I would remember where Merlin's house is, _Sora_."

"Well I think the map would too, _Donald_."

"Gawrsh, guys, let's not fight…"

Both parties, preoccupied with their own matters, turned the corner without paying any attention to where they were going and ran straight into each other.

"GAH!"

"WAAAACK!"

"OW!"

"EEEEK!"

"MRRAAAOW!!"

They landed in a tangled pile of limbs, the cat balanced haphazardly on top. Sora was the first to recover, untangling himself and running a hand through his hair sheepishly. "Uh, you guys okay?"

Satsuki pulled herself out from underneath the dazed pair of Donald and Goofy next. "Y-yeah. Fine. I think that blasted cat scratched me on the way down, though…" Her voice caught in her throat when she realized who she was talking to. _Sora…? And—and that was Donald and Goofy who were crushing me to death a minute ago. Oh dear lord, I am in Kingdom Hearts._

"Sorry about that," Sora was saying as he pulled a swirly-eyed Goofy up by an arm. "Guess we weren't watching where we were going. You gonna be alright with that arm, there?"

"Uh. Yeah. Yeah! I'll be fine. Just a scratch you know." She pulled the arm behind her, suppressing giggles as she watched Donald on the floor wrestling with the kitten. Bending over slightly, she swiftly picked the kitten up and set it on her shoulder, where it clung easily.

"Right. Well, my name's Sora, and this is Goofy," here, Goofy 'Ahyuck'ed and waved cheerily at her, "and Donald." Donald, who was still on the floor, glared daggers at the cat (who hissed right back) and waved grudgingly at the girl who was smiling shakily.

"I'm Satsuki Langley. And this is a cat I found that I've yet to name." Sora nodded his understanding.

They stood there for a few moments of awkward silence, until Goofy spoke up. "'Scuse me, miss, but I've never seen you here before. Are you new here?"

Satsuki started for a second, blinking surprise at being addressed again. "Yes, actually. I'm looking for someone, a friend of mine. We should've gotten here together but I think we got separated. Have you seen her? She's about my height, with straight black hair and glasses."

The three shook their heads in a negative. "Nope. Sorry." Sora offered. "We're looking for people too. No luck so far, but we aren't giving up hope, so neither should you, okay?"

Satsuki laughed, nodding her thanks. "I guess I should be going now. Sorry for running into you. And Donald, the cat says sorry too, so you can stop glaring at it." She stifled giggles at Donald's squawk of indignation.

She walked past the three, mind once again lost in thought, as Sora and Donald started arguing for the second time that day. Out of the corner of Goofy's eye, however, he glimpsed an insignia of a sun imprinted on Satsuki's right wrist. His eyes widened in surprise.

"Hey, wait a minute!" he said, running after her, and blocking her way. "You're her! The girl King Mickey always talked about!" Goofy was hopping up and down excitedly, but Satsuki was gazing him with incredulity and suspicion.

"Eh?"

"Goofy, what're you goin' on about?" Sora asked, the same look etched on his face.

"Donald, she's the Prophesized One!" Goofy shouted, unintentionally ignoring Sora's question. Donald, in turn, did a shocked sort of double-take.

"WHAAT?!"

"Prophesized One?" Came Satsuki and Sora's simultaneous outcry.

"That can't be!" Donald interrupted.

"It is, it is! She's got the sun on her wrist!" Goofy pointed excitedly at Satsuki's right arm, while the girl lifted said arm to gaze, surprised, at the strange insignia.

"That's new," she observed, blinking at it. "Kinda cool too; I always wanted a tattoo… just not really on my wrist…"

"Can somebody _please_ tell me what's going on?!" Sora half-shouted. The four in front of him started.

"Oh, that's right, you don't know." Donald said gleefully. Sora frowned at him, suppressing the urge to laugh.

"A little too happy about that, aren't you Donald?"

Goofy was the one to interrupt this time, saying, "Well, a long time ago, King Mickey summoned us, telling us he had something important to talk to us about. He said he'd been doin' some readin', and he'd found out about a prophecy three ladies had made, a long, long, long time ago."

"Eons ago, to be exact." Donald added, nodding.

After rearranging his hat (which had tilted slightly in his excitement), Goofy continued. "They were all sisters, and all of them could see the future. They were known as the Fates, because of their likeness to the Norns of Norse Mythology. The King told us that he'd found part of a record of one of their most important prophecies."

"Yup! It had three parts to it, one for each sister! The king could only find one part of it though, the one about us… the other two had been wiped off the page."

"So, you guys think that I'm the girl from this prophecy?" Satsuki asked. The two nodded in unison. "You two are nuts," she muttered. At Donald's angry squawking, though, she relented. "Well, do you at least remember how it went?"

The two assumed thinking positions, while Sora put his hands behind his head. "Ooh, this'll take a while."

Twenty 'Uhm…'s later, Goofy snapped his fingers, yelping, "I got it!" The four others (cat included) turned to look at him.

"_Who is that I see, in a time of unease?_

_Who is that I see, some messenger of peace?_

_Girl of kindness, girl of cunning_

_Girl whose friendship remains running_

_On her wrist a shining sun_

_With her voice a song unsung_

_Upon her coming there's hope for light_

_And so the darkness she comes to fight."_

Silence enveloped the group when he was finished as the information sunk in. Finally, Satsuki chose to speak.

"So… because of the weird tattoo on my wrist that wasn't there before, you think I'm the girl the poem was talking about?"

"Well, it makes sense…" Sora began. "I mean, we _are_ in a time of unease, and there _is_ a war between light and dark, and you _do_ have a sun on your wrist… You're looking for a friend of yours, too; I guess that's what the 'friendship running' part was about. The only thing I'm confused about is why I wasn't notified about this." He turned a raised eyebrow on the suddenly cowering duo of Donald and Goofy.

"Uhh… well, you see…"

"Oh, quit stammering, Goofy!" Donald exclaimed, stomping his foot on the ground. "We didn't tell you because we weren't sure! The King only told us about it in case she showed up. Since the prophecy didn't specify a date, it could've been now, or it could've been two thousand years from now. He told us so we'd know her if we saw her. We didn't wanna make you worry for nothing, you know."

Sora nodded in understanding. "Hmm… Does that mean she's gonna be replacing me? The prophecy makes her sound pretty important."

They shook their heads violently at the thought. "No, she's just going to be a basis for your power. Plus there's some extra role she has to play, something to do with one of the other parts of the prophecy. Don't think you're getting out of saving the world, mister!"

"Hold on a minute! Who said I was gonna do this in the first place?" The group focused their attentions on Satsuki upon hearing her outburst. "This is a hell of a lot to take in, you know. You can't just expect me to nod and go along with it!"

"Satsuki—"

"All I wanna do is find Silver and get the heck out of here."

"We can help you do that," Sora said, immediately grabbing onto the opening she'd left with her comment. "We can help you find your friend, and help you get back. I won't force you into helping us if you really don't want to."

"But, Sora—" Goofy whispered. Sora shushed him with a wave of his hand.

"I know how you feel. I was a part of some prophecy thing too. I ended up here alone without my best friends, and all I wanted to do was find them. That was my first priority. We'll help you find your friend, if you'll just give helping us a chance."

After a moment's hesitation, she gave a slight nod of the head. "Alright. But no promises. And you need to tell me everything about your little adventures before I came, and this prophecy about me." _(A/N: By the way, real-life 'Satsuki' never finished either of the games, so she has absolutely no clue what the storyline is. She paused KH 1 when Leon showed up and never really passed that point because of all that drooling she was doing. Just thought I'd kinda tie that into this story; she has no clue in real life, so she has no clue in the fic either.)_

"Alright!" Sora cheered. "I accept your terms, milady." He gave an extravagant bow to further his point. Satsuki burst out laughing. "Come on, I'll start the story now. We'll probably be able to finish it by the time we get to Merlin's place, since we have absolutely no idea where we're going."

"Yeah, yeah, blame it on me! And keep that cat away from me, will ya?"

"Ahyuck! Welcome to the team, Satsuki!"

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When they reappeared, Silver found herself in a spacious, well-lit room, elegantly decorated in shades of autumn. She unconsciously gave a little 'hm' of approval. Marluxia (who had slid his hood off upon entering the room) seemed to relax slightly as he took in the surroundings in a practiced, familiar scan of the area.

Suddenly, however, as if he just remembered Silver's presence, he tensed up again and gave her a little push towards an armchair before heading towards the door. "You stay here until I come for you. And don't even think about escaping or I'll cut your head off myself." With that, he disappeared.

"Right little ray of sunshine, isn't he?" she muttered, hands on her hips. She twirled around half-heartedly, surveying her surroundings, until her eyes fell on a mirror perched on the wall.

And gave an uncivilized squeak of terror upon seeing what was reflected back at her.

She sped towards the mirror with god-like speed _(A/N: Ha! Kenshin!),_ eyes wide with surprise. "Oh my god. I look different. Like, _different_. What the _hell_?!" She tugged hard on a strand of hair hanging from the side of her face. "It's not black anymore…" True to her observation, her hair, which had been a curtain of black, was now a long flowing shade of silver. Likewise, her eyes, which had been an ordinary brown, were now a light blue. Her glasses had also disappeared, leaving her with perfect 20-20 vision. "I'm pretty…" she marveled. "I could get used to this. Really." She spent another minute or so gazing at her reflection, before furrowing her brow in thought.

"If only they don't kill me…"

She ran a hand through her hair, sighing. It was then that she noticed another difference—on her previously bare left wrist was now a tattoo of a crescent moon. "Ookay, now how the hell did that happen?" she said, running her thumb over the image. "Come to think of it, how did I even end up here? Damn Dusks got me so preoccupied with dying I didn't even worry about it." Another sigh, accompanied with another frustrated swipe at her hair.

Suddenly, a panicked look crossed her face. "Oh my god. Oh my _god_. Where's Satsuki? She should be here with me; she was right with me when—" Realization dawned on her face, and she whispered a name like a curse. "_Pluto_," she seethed. "I swear I'm gonna throw that dog in the cooker when I find him!" Silver fell with a flump to the floor. "She can't be far, right? She was right with me. She has to be here somewhere… all I have to do is find her and we'll find a way back. If there is a way back. If the heart of our world wasn't taken or some crud like that."

She rubbed at the wrinkles in her forehead with a tired vengeance. Unexpectedly, she was feeling quite drowsy. "Parents must be worried," she mumbled. Slowly, she drifted off, spiraling gradually down towards sleep…

SLAM.

Silver jumped awake with a start, glaring hazily at the door as Marluxia stepped through. "He'll see you now. Follow me."

She got up from her sitting position on the floor, stretching slightly, and obeyed, albeit grudgingly. At first, while Marluxia led her through the castle, she tried to keep a hold of her bearings. Eventually, though, they'd gone through so many twists and turns, she quickly gave up on keeping track of where she was.

Soon enough, they'd arrived in front of a gigantic entryway that would undoubtedly lead to Silver's sentence—slash demise. As the enormous door creaked open slowly, the girl was greeted with the sight of a grey-walled, lengthy room that stretched for what seemed like ages. All the way at the end sat the Superior himself.

Xemnas was seated in a brooding position atop his throne, gazing emotionlessly at the silver-haired girl as she crept closer. His eyes flickered towards Marluxia, who had stopped a certain length away from Xemnas, and acknowledged the half-hearted bow the youth had sent his way. Once that was done, he went back to surveying Silver.

Silver squirmed and fidgeted under his close inspection, and was eternally grateful when his eyes left her to pour himself a glass of wine from a bottle sitting close by. "Your name?" he prompted.

"Silver Sumeragi." she pronounced clearly. There was no trace of a tremble in her voice despite her apparent fear.

"And your purpose here?" He took an elegant sip from the wineglass, his disconcerting eyes once again placed firmly on Silver's face.

"Don't have one." Marluxia, who had been standing next to her, gave her a warning nudge in the ribs, one that she shook off easily.

"You don't have a reason for appearing out of nowhere in the World that Never Was? Somehow I find that highly unlikely."

"I got transported here from my world without my knowledge or desire."

He gazed at her pensively, then snorted. "Of course. Let me see your wrist." Immediately, Silver was suspicious.

"Why?"

"Just do it, you insolent girl!"

Huffing, she obliged, holding her left wrist up so he could see the symbol engraved on it. The effect of that simple movement was instantaneous—she could feel Marluxia stiffening beside her, and although Xemnas' expression hadn't changed, she could see and feel the look in his eyes.

"Well, well, well… look what we have here…" he whispered maliciously. "Didn't I tell you something would be happening tonight, XI? And here she is, the Prophesized One herself…"

"Prophesized one?"

X:X:X:X:X:X:X:X:X:X:X:X:X

"…and that's pretty much how we ended up here." Sora said, just finishing his tale.

"Wow. That's a heck of a story."

"Tell me about it. Hey, what a coincidence! We finished the story and found Merlin's house at the same time!"

"Weird." True to Sora's word, the mismatched group was standing right outside the door to the official headquarters of the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee. "Well, let's go in, shall we?"

Sora went first, rapping lightly on the door before pushing it open… and getting immediately knocked down by ninety pounds of hyper ninja.

"SORA! Where the heck have you been?! We called ages ago! What took you so long, eh? I've been worried sick!"

"Ack, Yuffie, you're crushing me!!" The ninja released her deathgrip on him, muttering quick apologies. Behind her, the rest of the committee was assembling.

Whilst the others were busy welcoming Sora, Donald, and Goofy back, however, Leon was the first to remark on Satsuki's presence with one of his eloquently designed sentences. "Who's the girl?"

Satsuki, of course, was beside herself with joy. "L-L-Leon…" she drooled. Said tall male started.

"Uhh… How does she know me?" Were his last words before she tackled him.

About half an hour later, they had managed to pry the ecstatic girl off of poor old Leon (who had turned paler than normal and was struggling to hold back shrieks of terror) and had explained the whole situation to a confused crowd. Merlin had confirmed their suspicions upon examining Satsuki's wrist, and had told them that they had stumbled upon the very reason why he had summoned them here in the first place. Apparently, when he had studied the star charts today, he saw a form of a sun and moon intertwined in the alignment of stars and, realizing something important was about to occur, he had called them up to warn them about it.

That done, everyone lapsed into a comfortable silence until Yuffie started speaking.

"So, Sats—I can call you Sats, right? Anyways, why exactly did you glomp Leon?" she asked, eyes wide in feigned innocence. Satsuki never stopped beaming up at Leon from her position on the floor.

"He's a… uhh… he's kind of a celebrity in my world. Well, someone that looks like him anyway. And dresses like him. And has the same name…"

"Well, whadda ya know, Leon, you got a twin in another world!" Cid guffawed, chewing on his obligatory toothpick (which is, might I add, a sad replacement for his usual cigarette, unless Shera made him quit). Aerith giggled joyfully from her position next to Yuffie.

"Whatever…" came Leon's usual muttered response.

Merlin, who had been lurking in the background since his lengthy explanation before, finally decided to comment, stroking his beard contemplatively. "I'm going to hazard a guess and say you have not yet been formally trained in the art of fighting."

"Uhh… right."

"It would be a good idea, then, for us to start with that right away, yes?" He beamed happily at her while Satsuki herself groaned.

"Oh no… I have to work?"

"Well, if you have such great objections I guess I really have no choice, then." At the girl's confused look, he continued to elaborate, a frighteningly evil look gleaming in his formerly kindly eyes. "You'll just have to start training with Leon."

From then on, it was known throughout the entire world of Hollow Bastion that Merlin was in fact, the most devious, sadistic matchmaker in the history of existence.

X:X:X:X:X:X:X:X:X:X:X:X:X:X

A/N: Haha. Nine pages. Yayzerz. So, anyways, this story hasn't gotten any reviews yet and I've left it up for… a very long time now, so I kinda gave up. This'll probably be my last chapter if I don't get any in the near future. Boo-hoo. TT


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